Post-War Alternative
by hat-and-goggles
Summary: When the lions left New Altea, no one had expected them to come back. Especially not with cargo this precious. Based on a twitter conversation with @cofie chan.
1. Prologue

When the lions left New Altea, no one had expected them to come back.

After a quick call to their families, Hunk and Pidge immediately got to work on new ships for their journey home, one for each of the Paladins.

Shiro, on the other hand, spent an hour on the phone with Curtis to tell him that _'Yes, he somehow managed to lose a 150 ft tall metal lion and no, he didn't need him to come pick him up. Hunk and Pidge had this and he'd been meaning to spend some time with his friends anyway'_ , which quickly devolved into a back and forth of _'no, you hang up'_ s the likes of which the universe had never seen before.

"Ah, the honeymoon phase." Coran had sighed dreamily. "I remember it well." But his words fell on deaf ears.

Keith was about to offer to have Kosmo teleport everyone home when Lance nudged his shoulder with his own.

"Come on man, what's the rush? We have the rest of our lives in front of us. I don't think anyone will have a problem with us staying here a little longer. It'll be like a sleepover. Besides, didn't you miss us this entire last year, Mr. Lone Wolf?"

"Of course I missed you guys." Keith snorted. "You don't just spend three years with people and then not miss them when you barely see them anymore."

"That's what I thought." Lance laughed, picking up a stick from the ground. "Let's see if this puppy plays fetch."

"Kosmo doesn't play fetch. You can trust me on that one." Keith shrugged, crossing his arms. However, he looked on in disbelief as Lance waved the stick and Kosmo's eyes followed it intently before Lance threw it.

"Your own dog doesn't play fetch with you? _Ouch_."

Kosmo teleported right then and there.

"Double ouch." Keith mumbled. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but had to double take when he spotted something from the corner of his eye. "Uh, Lance? Your… Your _face_ …"

Lance rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'll bite. What about my face?"

"It's- Your marks, they're glowing!"

"My marks are…" Lance mumbled, holding up a hand to his face and watching in disbelief as he saw a blue light shine on it. A gasp escaped him when the unmistakable roar of the Blue Lion sounded over their heads.

When the lions left New Altea, no one had expected them to come back.

Especially not with cargo this precious.


	2. Chapter 1: Precious Cargo

Lance ran to the Blue Lion as fast as his legs would carry him, closely followed by the other Paladins. He hadn't expected Blue to bow down and open her mouth for him like she had done that first time three years ago, but she did. She'd never done that since Red accepted him as her Paladin. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong, and yet he ran inside without a second thought before skidding to a halt in the hull. It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

Slowly, he advanced through the hull, climbing into the cockpit. The markings on his face grew brighter and brighter as he drew closer to something. He didn't know what. He didn't care what. He just wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Lance let his fingers brush against the wall as he slowly walked to the front of the cockpit, anxious for what he would find. The lion didn't activate to his touch as it once did, but he felt her presence in the back of his mind nonetheless. She was ushering him forward, to the pilot's chair.

As Lance stood in front of it, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Allura..."

* * *

A deep feeling of dread washed over Lance as he trudged out of the Blue Lion's mouth.

Pidge and Hunk were waiting not too far away, their eyes focused on the bundle in his arms.

"Is that…" Pidge started, but she couldn't bring herself to complete her thought.

"Yeah, it is." Lance sighed. "Where are Keith and Shiro?"

"Black lion." Hunk mumbled. "It opened on touch-down just like Blue."

A wail drew their attention away from the bundle in Lance's arms, to Keith and Shiro walking down from the Black lion's mouth, holding a bundle not dissimilar to the one he held himself, albeit more fussy.

"Who've you got there, Keith?" Pidge asked, running up to the approaching duo.

"Lotor." Shiro answered. "Lance?"

But Lance couldn't bring himself to speak with the lump in his throat.

"Lance?" Keith pressed on.

"It's Allura." Lance whispered.

Tiny hands came up to pat Lance's cheeks and big, electric blue eyes looked up at him full of wonder and Lance couldn't help but smile.

"Hey there, beautiful." He said and the baby giggled.

"Uh, Lance? Your face..." Hunk tried.

"My markings are glowing. Yes. I know."

"Actually, no. They're gone." Pidge said.

"Huh." Lance sighed, glancing down at the happy baby in his arms. "Guess you're still the all-powerful princess."

The team turned around when they heard quick footfalls and heavy breathing. The telltale signs that Coran was fast approaching.

"Paladins! What happened?" The man cried out.

"We're not entirely sure ourselves. The lions came back and when we went inside, Lotor and Allura were in the pilot's chairs, except as babies." Keith answered, though the tone of his voice suggested that he was still figuring out what had happened and how it had happened in his mind.

"What do we do, Coran?" Pidge asked, not noticing a small, purple hand reaching for her hair.

"They're infants. There's not much we can do but raise them and give them a second chance to a happy life."

"Lotor, _no_."


End file.
